Developing a literacy implementation strategy

1. Developing a literacy implementation strategy John Munro

2. How can schools improve literacy teaching ? Schools need a workable strategy. This includes: • What is useful knowledge to teach staff ? • How to teach it ? • How staff will learn to teach it ?

3. What can you do to build your school’s professional knowledge and capacity for literacy teaching?

4. What is teachers’ professional knowledge like ?

5. Need to know what professional k nowledge to target ?

6. How to target knowing literacy ?

7. To learn more about What does literacy look like ? How staff can learn this: • What do I need to know to do literacy tasks ? • What does literacy ‘look like’ ? • How to unpack and identify literacy in my teaching ?

8. What does literacy knowledge look like ? For topics I teach, how to comprehend and use • vocabulary • topic ideas • sentence meanings; key propositions • summary meanings of paragraphs, sections • purpose for which text is written, author’s disposition

9. How to target knowing options for literacy teaching ?

10. To learn more about Useful literacy teaching procedures • collaborative discussions in PLTs -possibles, sharing what has worked for others • see videos of teaching procedures • see sample lesson plans; how others have done them in their teaching • how to unpack problems in teaching in terms of literacy • Instructional leadership that suggests optional, alternatives

11. Target doing literacy teaching

12. How to learn to doHRLTPs are in teaching ? • discuss in PLTs, visualise and reflect on how to do HRLTPs to teach topics • plan lessons that include the HRLTPs • see HRLTPs demonstrated in their classes • coach staff to do HRLTPs in teaching • trial and evaluate HRLTPs in teaching in action research • monitor how HRLTPs solve particular problems in teaching

13. Know how do develop • an literacy action plan • a professional learning plan • an implementation plan

14. Key questions to assist with action planning What will effective literacy teaching look like ? When the effective literacy teaching is in place • what will teachers be doing differently ? What does effective literacy teaching look like ? • how will students be learning differently ? What does effective literacy learning look like ?

15. Some key questions to lead literacy learning • What will effective literacy teaching look like ? • How will your staff learn it ? • What does your staff know now about it ? • How will you lead systematic improvement ? • How will you scaffold /support professional learning ? • How will you set goals for each term ?

16. Key players in the implementation 4 prong approach to PL

17. What will the school do ? • Identify term by term goals • Identify ways of pooling PL regularly • Use specific procedures for PL; PLT led by MLLL • How to use in teaching topics - lesson planning • Demonstration and modeling • Peer and external coaching • Use data in formative way – AfL • Gather summative data -monitored progress

18. Be clear on what you want as outcomes Have an explicit focus on PL and staff activity: By end of Term 1 : • What will staff be doing differently? • What will students be doing differently? • What will SLTs be guiding, scaffolding differently ?

19. Leading literacy improvement ? Some key procedures you may need to develop: How will your school • assist staff to learn literacy teaching procedures ? • scaffold /support professional learning ? • build a group knowledge literacy teaching ? • put in place conditions for improving literacy teaching ?

20. How will you set goals for each year ?

21. Example : Student outcomes to target in Term 1 2008 Students will have improved ability to • talk + write in sentences about pictures they see in texts • talk + write about the images they generate when they hear the title, its topic, key words or sentences. • suggest possible vocabulary that may be used in the text • identify 5W +H questions the text might answer • paraphrase title and suggest possible ideas in the text.

22. Student learning : Weekly planning proforma Plan for teaching new aspects of each strategy for Term 1

23. How can your school develop an explicit professional learning focus through PLTs to build teaching power for literacy ? Multiple parallel professional learning opportunities ? Instructional leadership strategy that targets literacy learning

24. Lead building a group effective literacy teaching • All learning begins with what the learners already know. • What procedures will you use to help staff to identify and collate what they know ? • How will you build a ‘group’ knowledge of literacy ?

25. How will you scaffold /support professional learning ? • What time, physical resources are necessary ? • How will you foster goal congruence for enhanced literacy teaching ? • How will you encourage regular professional dialogue, problem solving about literacy learning and teaching ? • How will you encourage collegiate support and collaboration ?

26. How will your staff learn to do it ? How will staff • be coached /scaffolded to implement new teaching procedures ? • be assisted to plan how to apply them in topics they will teach ? • monitor and modify the procedures ? • see links with VELS ? • become aware that the school leadership is actively supporting this; instructional dialogue ?

27. Staff learning : Weekly planning proforma

28. How will you set goals for each term ?

29. How will you lead teachers to implement activities each week ? Weekly planning proforma

30. How will your school gather data • Formative data : Afl • Summative data Know how your school will interpret data and map it into action

31. AIM test Torch test PAT test Probe test Burt test Teacher assessment reports How can schools gather data about their students’ literacy?

32. How will the school monitor Change in staff knowledge re literacy ? Improvement in literacy teaching practice ? Monitor the success of professional learning

33. What can schools put in place to improve literacy ? Some key procedures to examine: • Code of teaching practice for literacy

34. The conditions for improving literacy teaching How will you • foster a climate for professional learning about literacy ? • encourage the literacy leaders to lead professional learning ? • show your valuing of the activity ?

35. What we intend to do : train drivers Drivers trained in how to • teach the HRLTPs • lead professional learning,   • interpret relevant data in terms of what it  means for literacy teaching, • coach,  mentor and lead lesson planning,   • lead professional learning team,   • develop termly action plans and operational plans in literacy

36. The next steps for schools • Analyse and describe students’ achievement in literacy and the tools used. Trends in AIM data in recent years ? • Audit what staff know about literacy. To what extent do they see it demanded in learning ? • Audit what staff know about how to teach literacy. • Where you would like to be at end of 2008 in literacy ? • Plan initial professional learning pathway ? • Resources, support needed ?